Horses and Violins (and Fiddles) - December 13

Giddy Up Learning

Saturday, December 13, 2025

Today is National Cocoa Day, National Day of the Horse, National Violin Day, Gingerbread Decorating Day, and the birthday of the National Guard.

Winter Resource of the Day: Hot Cocoa Hacks

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Today's Theme: HORSES and VIOLINS (and FIDDLES)

ON THIS DATE

• 1769 -  Dartmouth College is founded by Reverend Eleazar Wheelock.
• 1862 - Confederate forces defeat Union troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia.
• 1928 - George Gershwin's An American in Paris is first performed.
• 2000 - 36 days after the election, Al Gore concedes the presidency to George W. Bush.

BIRTHDAYS

• 1887 - WW I hero Alvin York
• 1903 - Flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya
• 1925 - Actor Dick Van Dyke
• 1989 - Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift

SONGS OF THE DAY 

• America - A Horse with No Name -  LISTEN
• Weezer - Beginning Of The End (Wyld Stallyns Edit)  from Bill & Ted Face the Music - LISTEN
  
• George Gershwin - An American in Paris - LISTEN
• Taylor Swift - Shake It Off - LISTEN
• Carlos Montoya - Malaguena - LISTEN

THEME: Horses

• Grades PreK-1 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Sesame Street - Super Grover 2.0: Cart Before Horse  (6:52) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-2 - Daniel Tiger - Daniel Rides a Horse (3:16) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-2 - Let's Go Luna - Leo Sings About His Fear of Horses  (2:04) -VIEW
• Grades PreK-3 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Kid Quest - Horse Farm Field Trip (8:19) - VIEW and DO
• Grades K-4 - Wild Kratts - Pony Power (4:07) - VIEW
• Grades K-4 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - How Horses Read Our Expressions (2:19)  - VIEW and DO 
• Grades 1-5 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Kratts Creatures - Newborn Pony Foals! (1:43) - VIEW
• Grades 1-5 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Kratts Creatures - Who's That Pony? (2:40) - VIEW
• Grades 3-5 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Outdoor Nevada - Wild Horses (6:40) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-6 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Science Trek - Horses  Collection - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cloud the Horse (2:20) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cloud the Horse: Foal (5:13) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cloud the Horse: Age Two (3:23)  - VIEW and DO
• Grades 3-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature - Cloud the Horse: Age Four (2:22) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 4-6 - NHPBS LearningMedia - DragonflyTV - Horse Ears (7:56)- VIEW and  DO
• Grades 4-8 - NHPBS Video - SciGirls - Horsing Around (27:55) - VIEW
• Grades 4-8 - NHPBS Video - SciGirls - Horsing Around (In Spanish) (27:55) - VIEW
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 01: Mentor Moment (Available in Spanish) (1:11) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 02: Research (Available in Spanish) (2:54) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 03: Plan (Available in Spanish) (2:05) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 04: Experiment (Available in Spanish) (2:16) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 05: Test (Available in Spanish) (1:12) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 5-8 - NHPBS LearningMedia - SciGirls - Horsing Around 06: Share (Available in Spanish) (2:26) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Wild Horses: America's Most Beloved Invasive Species? (7:25) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Nature -The Horse with Nine Lives (4:22) - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Native America - The Comanche and the Horse (5:22) - VIEW and DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - The Wild Horses of Corolla (6:46)  - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - How Horses Can Help with Mental Health (5:23) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Nature - American Horses (53:14) - VIEW
• Grades 8-12 - NHPBS Video - Eons - How Horses Took Over North America (Twice) (9:08) - VIEW
• Grades 8-12 - NHPBS Video - Eons - How Horses  Went From Food to Friend (6:32) - VIEW
• Grades 8-12 - NHPBS Video - Power Trip: The Story of Energy - The New York Horse Manure Crisis (2:34) - VIEW

THEME: Violins and Fiddles

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - V Violin Song (0:51) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Elmo's World - Violins (2:17) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Itzhak Perlman Talks About Easy and Hard (1:03) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Itzhak Perlman and Telly (1:50) - VIEW
• Grades K-6 - Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Kids - READ and LISTEN
• Grades 5-12 - NHPBS Learning Media - Keeping the Music Alive (8:27) - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 5-12 - NHPBS Video - Listening with Your Eyes: Matthew Lipman (4:12) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - Let the Fiddle do the Singing: Traditional Fiddle Styles (5:54) - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Learning Media - Ken Burns - Country Music - The Fiddle and the Banjo: Origins (5:33) - VIEW
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Black Violin Breaks Down Music Stereotypes (7:09) - VIEW
  
• Grades 9-12 - NHPBS LearningMedia - The Violin Alone Collection - VIEW, READ, DO

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